Steering cable snapped?

[esc]

Good. As a programmer by trade, inexact specifications and miscommunication are the bane of my existence.

Since no one has expressed a preference one way or the other, I will try to document my project and post a detailed walk through.

[esc]

OK, I pulled my helm out today. It took a leisurely 2 hours.
I took lots of hi-res pictures that I plan to use to do a write up of the process.
You can see them here if you want but be prepared for about 40 1200x1600 pictures all on one page

http://www.comstockcomputing.com/macgregor/helm


But more importantly, look at this one:

http://www.comstockcomputing.com/macgre ... 111209.jpg

It shows that my cable is about 10.5 feet long. As far as I know it is an original cable.
I have read lots of other lengths on this board...but not 10.5'
Anyone have any comments on the length.
I think I should probably get the 11' replacement not the 10'. I would rather have a little extra than be a little short.

[ROAD Soldier]

Buy what I told you to buy and make you pics smaller. This is not rocket science. The pics will help people out in the future for those not mechanically inclined but they need to be smaller. Having to pan a picture to see the whole thing takes away from the learning experience.

[esc]

I gave you fair warning about their size !

Besides, I hadn't planned on leaving them like that forever!
A bunch of raw pictures is hardly what I would consider a good writeup. I mostly wanted someone to look at the measurement I took of the cable.

The cable sheath is 10.5' long. TeleFlex(oops, I mean uflex) says to add ~1.5' on to the length and order that cable.

HOW TO MEASURE FOR REPLACEMENT STEERING CABLES:
ORDER LENGTH: “D” dimension + 22”and round up to the next whole foot
Example: D= 120” + 22” = 142” (11’8”). Round up to 12 ft

According to that I should get the 12' cable. But if you are absolutely sure that the 10' cable is the right length, I'll trust you.
Do you think they say add 56cm just to make sure you don't end up with something too short and want to return it?

[ROAD Soldier]

You are not ordering a Teleflex brand. I think those measurements are for that type. However if you have a need for more absolute proof on what to order and can wait a few days I will take the exact number off my cable and take a picture of how much excess is in my pizza oven.

[esc]

You are not ordering a Teleflex brand. I think those measurements are for that type. However if you have a need for more absolute proof on what to order and can wait a few days I will take the exact number off my cable and take a picture of how much excess is in my pizza oven.

Sorry, I meant UFlex. I got that here, at the bottom of the page:

http://uflexusa.ultraflexgroup.com/arti ... 21&art=436

But, since you seem VERY sure of your facts, I will go ahead and order it now. I found a place with one for $119.95 that is 2 counties away, so I should have it in time to install Saturday.

[esc]

The new helm arrived last night.

I took the cable out this morning to compare to the original and it is a full 2 feet shorter.
http://www.comstockcomputing.com/macgre ... 110734.jpg

I should have followed the instructions of their web site and ordered the cable that was 1.5' longer than the sheathing of the original cable.

Now I will try to return this one. If I'm really lucky they might cross ship the correct one (which I now believe to be 12').

[ROAD Soldier]

Dude if the information I gave you is incorrect I apologize I guess the salesmen from whoever I ordered it from new the exact one I needed when I told him 10FT. This is the information I got from this site. Now so I don’t give out bad information in the future I could you to do something for me? Since the measurements are not the same from one company to the other could you see if there is a number stamped on yours somewhere? If there is can you take a picture of that location so I can go look at my installed one and get that number off of it? I did a quick look with a flashlight the other night to give an exact number of mine, but didn’t see one. Sorrow for the bad info and please help me straiten this out so others in the future get the right one no matter who they order it from and what measurements they us. Also out of curiosity how much slack (if any) did you have on your old one?

[esc]

I called the place I got it and they will cross ship a 12' cable and only charge me shipping. I won't have it until Monday, so I won't finish this weekend. It is only a minor inconvenience, especially considering that it is supposed to rain all weekend so I probably wouldn't have worked on it anyway.

If you look at the 27th picture in the link I posted a few posts ago, you will see how the old cable was routed. There is room that it could be tightened up some, but not 2 feet unless it went diagonally across the berth and didn't use the factory mounting point or had really tight bends. I think that the 12' cable will be about 3" shorter than the one I removed.

If you look at the picture from my last post you will see that there was a tag on the 10' cable with a number...but I already sent it back. I'll look for a number on the 12' when it arrives.

BTW, I updated that first link so that the pictures display at 400x300, not 1600x1200. The underlying pictures are still full resolution, so they take just as long to load. but if you view one of the pictures by its self, you will get full resolution...just in case you want a closer look. I also added a few captions describing what I was doing. It is still a work in progress.

[40Toes]

esc,
You might have thought you were on a bad ROAD but he wasn't steering you wrong. (Okay poor attempt at humour). You should have had no problem with a 10ft cable, the original on my 2000X was 8ft and I replaced it with 8ft UFlex cable though 10ft is probably a better option.

[esc]

I don't think that it would have reached using the factory hanger in the berth.

When you say your old cable was 8', how was that measured? I've seen other reports here that 9' is the bare minimum, that 10' is just right, that 11' is just right and that 12+ feet is just right.

As far as I can tell, my old helm and cable are factory stock and the cable sheath is 10.5 feet.
Maybe different cable lengths and routing were used on different year 's. Mine is a 1996.

Did you look at the picture that shows how my old cable was routed?

http://www.comstockcomputing.com/macgre ... 111150.jpg

Is yours routed differently?

[DaveB]

ESC,
It appears your lines have a larger loop before it goes Thur the transom than my 1997 MacX. This would need extra length for all cables. You can shorten them up to a more direct route but that would require all cables to be shorten or looped.
Throttle and gear cables can be looped in a larger diameter inside the console for easy movement. I used 13ft. throttle and gear cables on my Honda 50 with a 12 inch loop inside the console.
Keep to the same but I would recommend Stainless or Aluminum rivets to attach holding brackets to liner instead of screws as the liner is very thin.
Dave

I don't think that it would have reached using the factory hanger in the berth.

When you say your old cable was 8', how was that measured? I've seen other reports here that 9' is the bare minimum, that 10' is just right, that 11' is just right and that 12+ feet is just right.

As far as I can tell, my old helm and cable are factory stock and the cable sheath is 10.5 feet.
Maybe different cable lengths and routing were used on different year 's. Mine is a 1996.

Did you look at the picture that shows how my old cable was routed?

http://www.comstockcomputing.com/macgre ... 111150.jpg

Is yours routed differently?

[ROAD Soldier]

I would still like for you to see if there is a number stamped or printed on the new cable you got in. Then let me now the location if there is one so I can go right to it without having to tear my boat apart too much. Because honestly looking at your pictures I must have a 14ft cable or something because I got slack for days. My cable goes from the center hole straight to the starboard wall, hugs that wall tightly then to the original routing in the stern. So now I am curious on which one I have if you say 12ft will be 3 inches shorter then what you have now. Also since this mod is going to become more common as time goes on let's get some hassle free information if we can.

[DaveB]

All Mac.X owners should have the year built in there profile. Just putting MacX is not close enough to all the variations these Max's X has gone Thur years and even Months.
I have been Thur many changes and relying on a post from a MacX can vary big time Thur age. For instance I bought Cables for my Honda bf 50 after reading many replacements and settled on the 11 ft. cables that were to short and had to order 13 ft. cables, I still have the 11 ft. cables.
Also the many replacement parts (windows,side panels on console, rudders,deck hardware,rigging..etc)
Very important for year and month boat was built for this boat.
All cables should have length printed on them.
Dave

I would still like for you to see if there is a number stamped or printed on the new cable you got in. Then let me now the location if there is one so I can go right to it without having to tear my boat apart too much. Because honestly looking at your pictures I must have a 14ft cable or something because I got slack for days. My cable goes from the center hole straight to the starboard wall, hugs that wall tightly then to the original routing in the stern. So now I am curious on which one I have if you say 12ft will be 3 inches shorter then what you have now. Also since this mod is going to become more common as time goes on let's get some hassle free information if we can.

[esc]

I changed my location. But I don't know the month mine was built. I wonder if the board could be modified to allow the year to go by the boat, where it belongs?

When the new cable comes in I'll check it carefully for markings before installing it.

The picture may look like mine has a big loop, but it really goes straight from the binnacle to the starboard side and straight back. It has just enough slack that it elevates slightly when it hits the starboard side. I expect this helps to keep it from falling down on the starboard side. It it were much shorter, it might need an additional support there.

I think I'll stick with the screws that were on the original support. They have worked well so far and are a lot easier to remove than rivets.